Dodecagonal quasicrystals of oil-swollen ionic surfactant micelles

Journal Article · 28 July 2021 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2101598118 · OSTI ID:1811205

Jayaraman, Ashish  ^[1]; Baez-Cotto, Carlos M.  ^[2]; Mann, Tyler J. ^[1]; Mahanthappa, Mahesh K.  ^[3]

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1. Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455,
2. Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
3. Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455,, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455

Significance Quasicrystals, which exhibit local rotational symmetries and infinite unit cells, are intermediate states of matter between glasses and periodic three-dimensional (3D) crystals. Despite their ubiquity in metal alloys, self-assembled micellar quasicrystals have only serendipitously emerged from intricate molecular building blocks or complex materials-processing protocols. We demonstrate that hydration of a simple oil and surfactant (“soap”) mixture stimulates dodecagonal quasicrystalline ordering of oil-swollen spherical micelles, while oil addition to surfactant/water mixtures instead yields only periodic 3D crystals. Aperiodic order thus emerges as a scale-invariant feature of materials spanning metal alloys to self-assembled soft particles. The straightforward and path-dependent preparation of nonequilibrium quasicrystalline states from simple building blocks suggests that these complex sphere packings may often lurk in plain sight.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1811205
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 31 Vol. 118; ISSN 0027-8424
• Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English